History Today
In 1533, Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, was crowned Queen of England.
In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state.
In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.
In 1812, President James Madison wrote in a message to Congress that Britain had committed “a series of acts hostile to the United States as an independent and neutral nation,” and Congress ultimately declared war.
In 1813, after being mortally wounded during a losing battle with the British frigate Shannon in the War of 1813, Captain James Lawrence, commander of the USS Chesapeake, ordered, “Do not abandon ship.”
In 1916, Louis Brandeis was sworn in as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, becoming the first Jewish American to serve on that court.
In 1943, a civilian airliner en route from Portugal to Britain was shot down by Germany during World War II, killing all 17 people on board, including actor Leslie Howard.
In 1957, University of California, Berkeley student Don Bowden became the first American to run a sub-four-minute mile, clocking 3 minutes, 58.7 seconds at a meet in Stockton, California.
In 1958, Charles de Gaulle became Prime Minister of France, marking the beginning of the end of the Fourth Republic.
In 1967, The Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” which for many years has been considered by many to be the greatest rock and roll album of all time.
In 1980, the cable news network debuted.
In 2009, General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the largest industrial company in the United States to enter bankruptcy protection.
In 2017, President Donald Trump vowed to pull the U.S. out of the landmark Paris climate change agreement. (President Joe Biden signed an order rejoining the U.S. to the pact on his first day in office.)
In 2020, police violently dispersed thousands of peaceful, lawful protesters in Lafayette Park across from the White House, using chemicals, batons and punches, forcing protesters to flee. Protesters had gathered after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis a week earlier. After declaring himself a “law and order president” and threatening to send in U.S. troops in a speech from the Rose Garden, President Donald Trump walked across the deserted park and was photographed holding a Bible in front of St. John’s Church, which had been damaged the night before.
In 2021, the Biden administration reversed a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and halted oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
In 2022, a Virginia jury awarded Johnny Depp $15 million in damages in his defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, finding that Depp had fabricated her claims of abuse against him. However, the jury also ruled in favor of Heard, who claimed she had been defamed by Depp’s lawyers, who called the abuse allegations fabricated, and awarded her $2 million in damages.
birthday
Singer Pat Boone is 90 years old.
Actor Morgan Freeman is 87 years old.
Opera singer Frederica von Stade is 79 years old.
Actor Brian Cox is 78 years old.
Rock musician Ronnie Wood is 77 years old.
Actor Jonathan Pryce is 77 years old.
Actress Gemma Craven is 74 years old.
Actor John M. Jackson (TV: JAG, NCIS:LA) is 74 years old.
Blues rock musician Tom Principato is 72 years old.
Country singer Ronnie Dunn is 71 years old.
Actress Lisa Hartman Black is 68 years old.
Actor Tom Irwin is 68 years old.
Singer and musician Alan Wilder is 65 years old.
Rock musician Simon Gallup (The Cure) is 64 years old.
Actor and comedian Mark Curry is 63 years old.
Actor and singer Jason Donovan is 56 years old.
Actor Teri Polo is 55 years old.
Tony Bennett, the basketball player turned coach, is 55 years old.
Actor Rick Gomez is 52 years old.
Model and actress Heidi Klum is 51 years old.
Singer Alanis Morissette is 50 years old.
Actress Sarah Wayne Callies is 47 years old.
Comedian Link Neal (Rhett & Link) is 46 years old.
Television personality Damien Fahey is 44 years old.
Americana singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile is 43 years old.
Actor Johnny Pemberton is 43 years old.
Actress and author Amy Schumer is 43 years old.
Former tennis player Justine Henin is 42 years old.
Actor Taylor Handley is 40 years old.
Actress Zazie Beetz is 33 years old.
Actor Willow Shields is 24 years old.